Clifford “Ben” Casey, 57, went to be with our Creator on January 5, 2019, surrounded by his family, after a courageous battle with cancer. Ben was a lifelong resident of Humboldt County and a proud member of the Hoopa Tribe. He was born on January 10, 1962, to John and Ethel Casey in Eureka.
He was the second youngest of seven siblings. Throughout Ben’s youth, he loved to play baseball and football with his lifelong best friend Greg Readen. Ben married his high school sweetheart, Vicki in 1980.
Soon after, they moved to Nashville, Tennesee. There they spent the first two years of their 21-year-long marriage and had their first daughter, Natalie. He was employed as a lineman building cable TV systems, where he worked his way up to foreman.
When he had the opportunity to move back to California, he and his family lived in several cities throughout Central California before settling back in Eureka, where he and Vicki had daughters, Valerie and Stephanie. When Ben moved back to Eureka be began to work at Hilfiker Pipe Company. Ben proudly worked for the Hilfiker family for nearly 30 years.
He enjoyed working for the company and would like to thank them for their support over the years. Ben took a short sabbatical from Hilfiker in the late 1980s to build Pelican Bay Prison with his father and brother. Ben lived in Hoopa from 2000 to 2004.
He and his longtime girlfriend, Mary Bergenske, spent those years working at fire camps and he worked at the Macintosh Gas Station. This is when his love of gill net fishing began. He also worked for Blue Lake Forest Products and Schmidbauer Lumber.
In Ben’s own words, “his favorite thing was to spend the night on the river setting his net and providing fish for his family and to anyone that was in need of fish, with his cousin and friend Spam. Thanks Spam! Ben loved the outdoors, working in the yard or under the hood of a car.
He could fix almost anything. It might not be exactly the way it was supposed to be, but it worked. Ben passed on his work ethic to his three daughters, Natalie, Valerie and Stephanie, who he was very proud of”.
Ben was a devoted father, loving son and loyal friend. Ben had a tough exterior, but was also a very giving and thoughtful man. He was always doing something kind for someone from fixing just about everything to dropping off a surprise bouquet of flowers or bag of candy to his grandkids.
Ben was a great storyteller and loved to spend time reminiscing and passing on his knowledge. Ben spent the last year of his life fishing as much as possible, riding his Harley and playing slots at the casino. Ben is preceded in death by his father, John Casey, sister, Joy Casey-Ingram, brother John Casey, nephews Ben, Sequoi and Chris.
He is survived by his mother, Ethel Garcia; three devoted daughters; Natalie and David Renfer, Valerie and Jeremy Canfield, Stephanie and Beau Goodwin; grandchildren Conner and Kasey Renfer; Tianna, Ella and Cade Canfield and Carter Goodwin. Ex-wife, Vicki Casey; partner, Donna Long; man’s best friend, Grizzly; Brother Tim and Marcy Casey Sisters, Anna and Dwayne Myers, Evonne Downs and Kelly Lundy. Nieces and Nephews; Canyon, Amber, Sunny, Fred, Sahneewa, Ahwenga, Dillon, Tim Jr., Robert, Renee, and Keyonna.
Pallbearers; Greg Readen, Frank Henry, Alan Tempelton, Edward Gus Bowie, Russell Gilliam, and Spam Ferris. Honorary Pallbearers; Tim Casey Sr. Steve Christopher, Jeremy Canfield, David Renfer, Beau Goodwin, Canyon Hodge, Sunny Gibson, Fred Trimble, Dillon Myers, Tim Casey Jr., and Robert Claybon. Services will be at Sanders Funeral Home.
1835 E St. Eureka, CA, Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 11am. Burial and potluck to follow at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church in Hoopa. Celebration of life potluck at 4 p.m. at Casey Acres, 130 W 14th St., Eureka.
All family and friends are welcome to attend and share in our farewell to Ben. To share memories or express condolences, please sign guest book.
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